Description
These Decorated Pumpkin Cookies are soft, lightly spiced sugar cookies shaped like pumpkins and beautifully decorated with royal icing. Perfect for fall celebrations, Halloween, or Thanksgiving, these cookies combine classic sugar cookie flavors with festive orange and green royal icing designs. The dough is easy to prepare, rolled out, cut with a pumpkin cutter, baked until just golden, and then meticulously decorated with homemade royal icing that dries hard for stacking and gifting.
Ingredients
Scale
Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- 2 ½ cups (312 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (optional)
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Royal Icing
- 2 Tablespoons meringue powder
- 5-6 Tablespoons warm water
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ⅔ cups (320 g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- Orange food gel
- Green food gel
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare baking sheets: Preheat oven to 400° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice (if using). Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a large bowl, combine softened unsalted butter and confectioners’ sugar using a hand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add egg and vanilla: Add the large egg and pure vanilla extract to the butter mixture and beat until thoroughly incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides as needed.
- Add flour mixture: With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until most of the dough sticks to the paddle. The dough should have some give but not stick to your fingers. Add more flour by tablespoons if too sticky.
- Roll and cut dough: Flour the work surface and roll the dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Dust with flour as needed. Use a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies and place them on prepared baking sheets. Gather scraps and re-roll as necessary. If baking in a warm climate, chill the cut cookies for 20 minutes before baking.
- Bake the cookies: Bake cookies at 400° F for 7 to 8 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare royal icing base: In a large mixing bowl, combine meringue powder and 5 tablespoons warm water. Whip with a whisk attachment until foamy, about 3 minutes.
- Add vanilla and sugar to icing: Add vanilla extract and sifted confectioners’ sugar to the meringue mixture. Whip on medium speed until thick and holding a medium soft peak, about 3 minutes. Thin with additional water a few drops at a time if necessary to achieve desired consistency.
- Color the royal icing: Transfer ¼ cup of icing to a separate bowl and tint with green food gel, mixing well. Transfer this green icing to an icing bag fitted with a small round tip (Wilton #2 recommended). Add orange food gel to the remaining icing in the main bowl and mix thoroughly; transfer to a separate icing bag with a small round tip.
- Decorate cookies: Outline each cooled pumpkin cookie with the orange icing. Add two curved lines to divide the pumpkin into thirds to mark the ridges. Allow the outline to dry completely before flooding the inside of the pumpkin shape with orange icing. Let this layer dry fully, which may take several hours.
- Add finishing touches: Use the green icing to fill in the pumpkin stem and add decorative vines if desired. Allow all icing decorations to dry completely before stacking or packaging.
Notes
- Meringue powder can be found at local baking or craft stores, or purchased online.
- Royal icing takes several hours to dry hard enough for stacking and packaging; patience is essential for best results.
- Store decorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, placing parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking.
- Cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container. Defrost in the refrigerator before bringing to room temperature.
- The cookie dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months; thaw completely before rolling and cutting as usual.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 191 kcal
- Sugar: 14 g
- Sodium: 85 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.4 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
